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Xero (1997)
Introduction to Linkin Park: Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international '' ''fame with their debut album Hybrid Theory (2000), which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-Platinum in several other countries. Their following studio album Meteora continued the band's success, topping the Billboard 200 album chart in 2003, and was followed by extensive touring and charity work. Having adapted nu metal and rap metal to a radio-friendly yet densely layered style in Hybrid Theory and Meteora, the band explored other genres on their next studio album, Minutes to Midnight (2007). The album topped the Billboard chartsand had the third-best debut week of any album that year. The band continued to explore a wider variation of musical types in their fourth album, A Thousand Suns (2010), layering their music with more electronic sounds. Their fifth album, Living Things(2012), combines musical elements from all of their previous records. Their sixth album, The Hunting Party (2014), returned to a heavier rock sound. Their seventh album One More Light, a more electronic and pop-oriented record, was released on May 19, 2017. In 2003, MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth-greatest band of the music video era and the third-best of the new millennium.Billboard ranked Linkin Park No. 19 on the Best Artists of the Decade chart. In 2012, the band was voted as the greatest artist of the 2000s in a Bracket Madness poll on VH1. In 2014, the band was declared as the Biggest Rock Band in the World Right Now by Kerrang!. As the best-selling band of the 21st century and one of the world's best-selling music artists overall, Linkin Park has sold more than 70 million records worldwide and has won two Grammy Awards. History of Linkin Park Album: 1996–2000: Early years of Linkin Park (Xero) Linkin Park was founded by three high school friends: Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson. The three attended Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. After graduating from high school, the three began to take their musical interests more seriously, recruiting Joe Hahn, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Mark Wakefield to perform in their band, then called Xero. Though limited in resources, the band began recording and producing songs within Shinoda's makeshift bedroom studio in 1996, resulting in a four-track demo tape, entitled Xero. Tensions and frustration within the band grew however after they failed to land a record deal. The lack of success and stalemate in progress prompted Wakefield, at that time the band's vocalist, to leave the band in search of other projects. Farrell also left to tour with Tasty Snax, a Christian punk and ska band. After spending a considerable time searching for Wakefield's replacement, Xero recruited Arizona vocalist Chester Bennington, who was recommended by Jeff Blue, the vice president of Zomba Music in March 1999. Bennington, formerly of a post-grunge band by the name of Grey Daze, became a standout among applicants because of the dynamic in his singing style. The band then agreed on changing its name from Xero to Hybrid Theory; the newborn vocal chemistry between Shinoda and Bennington helped revive the band, inciting them to work on new material. In 1999 the band released a self-titled extended play, which they circulated across internet chat-rooms and forums with the help of an online 'street team'. The band's renaissance culminated with another change in name, this time to Linkin Park, a play on and homage to Santa Monica's Lincoln Park (now called Christine Emerson Reed Park). The band initially wanted to use the name "Lincoln Park", however they changed it to "Linkin" to acquire the internet domain "linkinpark.com".The band still struggled to sign a record deal. Linkin Park turned to Jeff Blue for additional help after facing numerous rejections from several major record labels. After failing to catch Warner Bros. Records on three previous reviews, Jeff Blue, who had negotiated his employment contract with Warner Brothers to include signing Linkin Park, and was now the vice president of Warner Bros. Records, helped the band sign a deal with the company in 1999. The band released its breakthrough album, Hybrid Theory, the following year of 2000. Category:Old name Category:Old group Linkin Park Category:Xero